It's one of those oddball, unanswerable questions that pop up from time to time. When people report seeing a full-bodied apparition, it is almost always wearing clothes. (With the notable exception of some ghosts who appear naked.)
One thing I have noticed about ghost reports is that they are often said to have been dressed in gauzy white clothes, like a wedding dress or dressing gown. I wonder if this isn't just the observer's mind trying to make visual sense out of a big swirl of white. They could just be seeing ectoplasm or fog, but their mind sees a woman in a wedding dress.
The fact that ghosts appear in clothing can be explained two ways:
1. The Recording
One theory of ghosts is that they are simply energy recordings, left behind by their owners who lived or worked on the property years ago. This type of haunting is usually not intelligent, and may walk through a wall where there was once a door, or always do the same thing in the same order (e.g. a ghost which is always seen walking up a staircase, never down the stairs or elsewhere in the home).
This is the theory that homes and buildings can somehow be imprinted with the energy of their owners. Odd that the energy would include clothes. But this energy includes the appearance of the person, and that appearance includes the clothing.
2. The Haunting
This is the theory that the actual spirit of the dead person has remained. It may be attempting to communicate, or it may just be hanging out in its favorite spot (or the spot where it was killed). It's not so surprising that this kind of ghost would appear in clothes.
If I ask you to imagine yourself standing in the middle of the shopping mall, I'm going to guess that you imagine yourself wearing clothing. Our clothing is so tied into our personalities, into who we are, that it is natural to include clothing with our projections of ourselves.
An interesting question is, why aren't there more ghosts wearing modern clothing? It seems like ghosts are always reported wearing very historical clothing, like stovepipe hats and bustle skirts. Where are the modern ghosts, in Doc Martens and jeans?
Maybe it takes time for a ghost to really develop. Maybe our children or our grandchildren will be seeing ghosts in contemporary clothing when they grow up!
One thing I have noticed about ghost reports is that they are often said to have been dressed in gauzy white clothes, like a wedding dress or dressing gown. I wonder if this isn't just the observer's mind trying to make visual sense out of a big swirl of white. They could just be seeing ectoplasm or fog, but their mind sees a woman in a wedding dress.
The fact that ghosts appear in clothing can be explained two ways:
1. The Recording
One theory of ghosts is that they are simply energy recordings, left behind by their owners who lived or worked on the property years ago. This type of haunting is usually not intelligent, and may walk through a wall where there was once a door, or always do the same thing in the same order (e.g. a ghost which is always seen walking up a staircase, never down the stairs or elsewhere in the home).
This is the theory that homes and buildings can somehow be imprinted with the energy of their owners. Odd that the energy would include clothes. But this energy includes the appearance of the person, and that appearance includes the clothing.
2. The Haunting
This is the theory that the actual spirit of the dead person has remained. It may be attempting to communicate, or it may just be hanging out in its favorite spot (or the spot where it was killed). It's not so surprising that this kind of ghost would appear in clothes.
If I ask you to imagine yourself standing in the middle of the shopping mall, I'm going to guess that you imagine yourself wearing clothing. Our clothing is so tied into our personalities, into who we are, that it is natural to include clothing with our projections of ourselves.
An interesting question is, why aren't there more ghosts wearing modern clothing? It seems like ghosts are always reported wearing very historical clothing, like stovepipe hats and bustle skirts. Where are the modern ghosts, in Doc Martens and jeans?
Maybe it takes time for a ghost to really develop. Maybe our children or our grandchildren will be seeing ghosts in contemporary clothing when they grow up!